Claim-Evidence-Reasoning (CER)

How do snowflakes form?

Mary Tweedy, Curriculum Support Specialist

Keisha Kidd, Curriculum Support Specialist
Millard Lightburn, Ph.D., District Supervisor K-5

Department of Mathematics and Science

 Benchmark Focus
Science
• SC.5.E.7.3 Recognize how air temperature, barometric pressure, humidity,
wind speed and direction, and precipitation determine the weather in a
particular place and time.
• SC.5.E.7.4 Distinguish among the various forms of precipitation (rain,
snow, sleet, and hail) making connections to the weather in a particular
place and time. (Assessed as SC.5.E.7.3.)
Common Core Integration
• LACC.5.W.3.9: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support
analysis, reflection, and research.
• LACC.5.SL.1.1: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-
one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 5 topics and texts,
building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
• LACC.K12.L.3.4 : Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-
meaning words and phrases by using context clues, analyzing meaningful word
parts, and consulting general and specialized reference materials, as appropriate.

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 Claims
Claims are the statements that answer your
original question.

• The claim must be accurate, specific, and

answer the question.

• The claim is usually one sentence in length.

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 Evidence
The evidence is all the scientific data that supports
your claim.
• It can come from a variety of sources such as:
textbook, reading selections, videos, lab
investigations, class notes, etc.
• It should include both qualitative and
quantitative data.
• It is important to have numerous pieces of
evidence in order to prove your claim.
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 Reasoning
• Reasoning is the explanation that connects your
claim to the evidence that supports it or why you
think your claim (answer to the question) is correct .
• It shows why the data you chose counts as evidence.
• It shows a detailed understanding of the scientific
principles involved and uses correct science
vocabulary.
• This explanation acts as a conclusion.
• If evidence is from an experiment, it can be the
“conclusion” of the lab.
• It is usually several sentences in length.
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 How Snowflakes Form
Resources
• Grade 5 McGraw-Hill Reading Wonders Literature Anthology: The Story of
Snow Unit 3 Week 3 pp. 216-231
http://connected.mcgraw-hill.com/connected/login.do
User Name: wondersfl Password: wonders2014
• Discovery Education Reading: Where Do Snowflakes Come From?
• Animated Video: How does it snow? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJwHzEcvT5w
• Video: How does snow form? (Comparing snow to sleet):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bl7K4D3ccfE
• NBC LEARN: How Snowflakes Form (And Yes, Each One is Different)
• How Do Snowflakes Form? http://geology.com/articles/snowflakes/
• A snowflake primer: http://www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/snowcrystals/primer/primer.htm

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 What do you know about snow?
How does it snow?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJwHzEcvT5w

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 Gr.
5 McGraw-Hill Reading Wonders Literature
Anthology:

Discovery Education Reading:

Where Do Snowflakes Come From?
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 Claim-Evidence-Reasoning (CER)
Assignment: Write a scientific explanation that
answers this question: How do snowflakes form?
Claim (Write a sentence that states how snowflakes form.)

Evidence: (Provide data about the weather conditions

including quantitative data to support your claim about
how snowflakes form.)

Reasoning: (Write a statement that connects your

evidence to your claim about how snowflakes form.)

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 Getting Started:
Prewriting Science Ideas
• What is a possible claim?
• What science words will you want to include?
• Where will you look for your evidence?
• What sentence starters can you use to present
your evidence?
• What reasons show that this is good evidence?
• What writing words can you use?

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 Show Your Evidence
Sentence Starters
• According to the text…
• On page ___, it said …
• The author wrote…
• For instance…
• From the reading, I know that…
• Based on what I read…
• The graphic showed…
• For example…
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 Writing Words
• “Uncertainty” words: usually, generally,
suggests, indicates
• Sequencing words: first, second, third
• Therefore
• Because
• If… Then…
• However

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CER Grading Rubric

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 Providing Feedback on a Student’s CER

WHAT TO COMMENT ON: HOW TO COMMENT:

• Components of the • Explicit and clear feedback

explanation: • Point out strengths and
- claim weaknesses
- evidence • Provide suggestions on how to
- reasoning improve
• Science content of explanation • Ask questions to promote
• Holistic quality of explanation deeper thinking

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 When can a CER be used?

• Use it to engage in structured, argumentation

to explain a scientific concept.
• Use it after an experiment to explain why a
hypothesis was proven correct or not.
• Use it to justify an answer choice for a
multiple (FCAT type) test question is correct.
• Use it to discuss claims made in videos or
documentaries.

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After an Experiment

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 Multiple Choice Question
• Claim
– The correct answer choice is …
• Evidence
- Facts from background information
- Data from the table or graph if applicable
• Reasoning
- Reasons for excluding other answer choices
- Scientific background knowledge that explains
why the answer is correct beyond what is given in
the graph, table or background information.
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Claim, Evidence, Reasoning after Viewing a Video or a Documentary

• What is the claim the reporter is making?

• What evidence does he or she cite in the
report that supports that claim?
• What is the scientific explanation?

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 CER Resources
• McNeill, K. L. & Krajcik, J. 2011. Supporting grade 5-8
students in constructing explanations in science: The
claim, evidence and reasoning framework for talk and
writing. New York, NY: Pearson & Bacon.
• McNeill, K. and Martin, D. 2011. Claims, Evidence, and
Reasoning: Demystifying data during a unit on simple
machines. Science and Children, 48(8).
• cosmos.bgsu.edu/nwoSymposium/2013%20stuff/
PresenterMaterial/Claim%20Evidence%20Reasoning
%20(Elizabeth%20Buckholtz)%20NWO%20Symposium
,%202013.pdf

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